In Cyprus to register a company from scratch, usually takes approximately 10 to 18 working days (it also depends on the existing workload of the registration department of the Registrar of Companies). 

In order to register a company or any other legal entity in Cyprus, the following notes should be taken into consideration:

– There must be a detailed description of the proposed activities of the company
– The countries in which the business will be carried out must be defined
– A proposed name of the company must be provided (2-3 names may be required in order to increase the possibility of getting a name approved by the Registrar of Companies )
– There are no legal requirements as to the minimum or maximum share capital of the company. Authorised Capital may be stated in any currency. Capital duty at the rate of 0,6% of the authorized capital is payable to the Government on incorporation and subsequent increase of any amount of the authorized capital.
– The company by law must have a secretary and in this respect a secretarial company can be provided by reputable service providers.
– The company by law must have a registered office in Cyprus, which may also be used as the business address of the company.
– It is a requirement by law that every company limited by shares must have at least one shareholder. If anonymity is required the shares may be held by trustee companies in trust for the beneficial owner without public disclosure of the owner’s identity. Trustee companies may be provided by reputable service providers.
– A bank reference for each beneficial shareholder is required.

The following information is required for each shareholder:
– Full name
– Residential and business address
– Date of birth
– Nationality
– Occupation
– Details of past and existing business activities
– Notarized copies of passport
– For corporate shareholders, notarized copies of the statutory documents and the most recent financial statements

The following information is required for each director:
– Full name
– Residential address
– Date of birth
– Nationality
– Occupation
– Notarised passport copy
– Other directorships in Cypriot companies

It is recommended that the majority of the directors are Cyprus-residents since in order to benefit from the low taxation it is important that the company is managed and controlled in Cyprus. Resident directors may be provided by reputable service providers. The formation and registration of the company (including operational matters such as printing the letterheads, setting up of statutory and accounting books, opening of bank accounts, etc) may take up to a maximum of one month.

Following the registration of the company the following documents are provided properly legalized and translated into English (if clients wish to):
– Memorandum and Articles of Association
– Certificate of Registration
– Certificate of Directors and Secretary
– Certificate of Shareholders
– Certificate of Registered Address
– Share Certificates

After its formation, the company may open Bank Accounts with any bank in any currency and money transfers are not affected by exchange control restrictions. The company may arrange for local bank signatories to be appointed to operate the bank accounts.